Background: Dengue is a growing problem both in its geographical spread and in its intensity, and yet current global distribution remains highly uncertain. Challenges in diagnosis and diagnostic methods as well as highly variable national health systems mean no single data source can reliably estimate the distribution of this disease. As such, there is a lack of agreement on national dengue status among international health organisations. Here we bring together all available information on dengue occurrence using a novel approach to produce an evidence consensus map of the disease range that highlights nations with an uncertain dengue status. Methods/Principal Findings: A baseline methodology was used to assess a range of evidence for each country. In regions where dengue status was uncertain, additional evidence types were included to either clarify dengue status or confirm that it is unknown at this time. An algorithm was developed that assesses evidence quality and consistency, giving each country an evidence consensus score. Using this approach, we were able to generate a contemporary global map of national-level dengue status that assigns a relative measure of certainty and identifies gaps in the available evidence. Conclusion: The map produced here provides a list of 128 countries for which there is good evidence of dengue occurrence, including 36 countries that have previously been classified as dengue-free by the World Health Organization and/or the US Centers for Disease Control. It also identifies disease surveillance needs, which we list in full. The disease extents and limits determined here using evidence consensus, marks the beginning of a five-year study to advance the mapping of dengue virus transmission and disease risk. Completion of this first step has allowed us to produce a preliminary estimate of population at risk with an upper bound of 3.97 billion people. This figure will be refined in future work.

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Refining the global spatial limits of dengue virus transmission by evidence-based consensus

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

The current interest in leishmaniasis stems from the importance of this disease with respect to travel medicine, veterans of Operation Desert Storm, humanitarian concerns, and infection with human immunodeficiency virus. Herein, I review aspects of leishmaniasis that are of practical value to practitioners, including presentation, diagnosis, and chemotherapy; I will emphasize advances in chemotherapy over the last 10 years. Amphotericin B and its new lipid formulations are now competitive with pentavalent antimony as primary therapy for visceral leishmaniasis. Pentamidine, paromomycin, and adjunctive therapy with interferon-gamma are secondary regimens for the treatment of this condition. High-dose long-term regimens of antimony have been shown to be highly effective for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Preliminary evidence of efficacy has been observed with short courses of pentamidine for the treatment of Leishmania braziliensis complex disease and topical paromomycin/methylbenzethonium chloride for the treatment of Leishmania major disease.

Human leishmaniasis: clinical, diagnostic, and chemotherapeutic developments in the last 10 years.

In India, 320 patients with visceral leishmaniasis (209 in the state of Bihar and 11 in the neighboring state of Uttar Pradesh) received identical pentavalent antimony (Sb) treatment. Sb induced long-term cure in 35% (95% confidence interval [CI], 28%-42%) of those in Bihar versus 86% (95% CI, 79%-93%) of those in Uttar Pradesh. In Bihar, the center of the Indian epidemic, traditional Sb treatment should be abandoned.

/pdf/failure-of-pentavalent-antimony-in-visceral-leishmaniasis-in-4pb3323n1h.pdf

Failure of Pentavalent Antimony in Visceral Leishmaniasis in India: Report from the Center of the Indian Epidemic

Dengue viral infections are one of the most important mosquito borne diseases in the world. They may be asymptomatic or may give rise to undifferentiated fever, dengue fever, dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), or dengue shock syndrome. Annually, 100 million cases of dengue fever and half a million cases of DHF occur worldwide. Ninety percent of DHF subjects are children less than 15 years of age. At present, dengue is endemic in 112 countries in the world. No vaccine is available for preventing this disease. Early recognition and prompt initiation of appropriate treatment are vital if disease related morbidity and mortality are to be limited. This review outlines aspects of the epidemiology of dengue infections, the dengue virus and its mosquito vector, clinical features and pathogenesis of dengue infections, and the management and control of these infections.

https://pmj.bmj.com/content/postgradmedj/80/948/588.full.pdf

Dengue viral infections

One hundred and ten adult patients hospitalized with dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) during the recent outbreak in North India were prospectively studied. Of these, 48 (43.6%) were grade I, 40 (36.4%) grade II, 10 (9.1%) grade III and 12 (10.9%) grade IV DHF. Dengue shock syndrome (DSS) was seen in 22 (20%) patients. Fever, headache, myalgias and arthralgias were the common symptoms seen in 100%, 80.9%, 76.2% and 52.3% patients, respectively. Spontaneous bleeding was seen in 62 patients (56.4%) with mucocutaneous bleeding being the most common (46 patients). Gastrointestinal bleeding was seen in 38 (34.5%) patients. In as many as 40 patients, the haemorrhagic manifestations occurred after the fever had come down. Fifty-five patients (50%) required platelet transfusions. Twelve patients died, giving a mortality rate of 10.9% in the present study. Prompt recognition and supportive treatment can be lifesaving.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever in adults: a prospective study of 110 cases.

Transfusion-transmitted Kala-azar in India

The aims of the present study were to carry out surveillance for dengue virus infection in adults with short-duration fever, and serological study of dengue virus infection in persons without fever. Patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 included patients above 12 years of age with fever of 2-12 days duration without any apparent cause. Of these, patients who presented with fever for 2-5 days were included for virus isolation (group 1a) while those who presented within 6-12 days of the onset of fever were included for the dengue-specific IgM serology (group 1b). Group 2 included a sample of population belonging to all age groups but without pyrexia and blood was collected for dengue-specific IgG serology. Twenty-six patients were enrolled in group 1a over a period of 4 months (September to December, 1997). Of these, DEN1 was isolated in 5 cases. Group 1b included 182 patients, out of which 34 (18.68%) were positive for dengue-specific IgM antibodies. Significantly, all the positive cases were detected during the months of September to November. Retro-orbital pain was present in a significantly more number of IgM-positive cases as compared to IgM-negative cases. Group 2 included 125 cases without fever. The overall positivity for dengue-specific IgG antibodies was 77.6%, with the highest positivity of 100% in the age group of 31-40 years. It was concluded that dengue virus infection is endemic in and around Delhi with peak incidence between September and Novemver. The prevalent serotype during September and December 1997 was DEN1. Since previous epidemic of DHF was due to DEN2 type, isolation of DEN1 serotype indicates changes of another epidemic of DHF due to DEN1 serotype. The stresses the urgent need for implementation of measures to control the transmission of dengue infection.

Seroepidemiology and active surveillance of dengue fever/dengue haemorrhagic fever in Delhi.

Human brucellosis is a significant public health problem in India, the magnitude of which is not known. Paucity of clinico-epidemiologic data hampers control strategies. We prospectively studied 121 cases of fever of unknown origin (FUO) and 50 occupationally exposed individuals. Four patients with FUO had acute brucellosis (3.3%) while 8 (6.6%) had serological evidence of previous brucella infection. Seven of the 50 (14%) asymptomatic, 'at risk' individuals screened were seropositive for brucella. Persistence of the animal reservoir of infection, low physician awareness, poor availability of diagnostic facilities, and the non existence of regional data bases contribute towards the perpetuation of this zoonosis in India, while it has been eradicated from most developed countries.

Brucellosis in north India: results of a prospective study.

Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is a problem frequently faced by clinicians all over the world One hundred and twenty-one cases of FUO presenting to a large teaching hospital in northern India were prospectively studied over a period of 2 years Infections were the commonest cause accounting for 438% cases of FUO, with tuberculosis (TB) being the commonest infection encountered Collagen vascular diseases and tumours accounted for 157 and 83% cases, respectively No cause could be found out in a substantial number of cases (19%) even after invasive investigations Knowledge of the current patterns of FUO is important since many patients present with potentially treatable diseases

Wali Jp

Papers

Dengue haemorrhagic fever in adults: a prospective study of 110 cases.

Transfusion-transmitted Kala-azar in India

Seroepidemiology and active surveillance of dengue fever/dengue haemorrhagic fever in Delhi.

Brucellosis in north India: results of a prospective study.

Fever of unknown origin: a prospective study.